In a variety of contemporaneous applications, various types of fluid-based cooling systems cool computers and other electronic equipment. In the simplest case, fluid moves heat from a hard-to-cool location to a different area. For example, flexible fluid-filled heat pipes are employed to remove heat from hot electronic components to finned sides of a computer case where convective cooling with ambient air removes the heat without the use of forced air.
Enterprise-based compute and storage systems are increasingly deployed as modular systems with standardized form factor electronic enclosure modules mounted in standardized support structures. The standardized electronic enclosure modules can be devoted to perform any of a number of different functions such as computing, storage, or networking. The enclosure modules are commonly mounted in standardized support structures such as 19 inch (approximately 0.482 m) or 24 inch (approximately 0.610 m) wide racks. Such enclosures are commonly industry standard 1U (1.75 inch; approximately 4.45 cm), 2U (3.5 inch; approximately 8.89 cm), 3U (5.25 inch; approximately 13.3 cm), or 4U (7 inch; approximately 17.8 cm) high. Often, the reasons for the adoption of the larger 2U, 3U, or 4U modules are to increase reliability of electronic components through improved airflow for cooling and to provide space for more adapter cards.
Modular enclosures are frequently air-cooled. The enclosures draw air in from the room in which they are housed by means of fans that accelerate the air and force it over the enclosure's internal components, thus cooling the components. The resulting heated air is exhausted back into the room.
Other cooling methods have focused on fluid cooled systems using a cold plate means. The cold plate means are typically complex. For example, an individual spring-loaded cold plate is used for each component. Each cold plate, in turn, is connected with individual flexible pipes. Each cold plate includes, at least, a temperature-controlled valve, temperature sensors, and controllers.
Other cooling methods have employed a compressible thermally-conductive-material heat sink assembly. To be compressible, the heat sink assembly must conform to components to be cooled. However, all conformable materials have a relatively low thermal conductivity as compared to pure metals or heat pipes. Thus, the conformable heat sink assemblies have a relatively high thermal resistance. Consequently, very little heat spreading is provided such that each thermal interface must have a very low thermal resistance for the assembly to be effective. Further, the assembly is not extensible to vertical daughter cards on a motherboard such as, for example, dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) used in computer and other memory systems.
Importantly, no existing solution comprises a conventional, modularly deployed system with a high thermal conductivity connectable to all components. Further, no such system also includes high heat dissipation on a conventional motherboard, including removable daughter and memory cards, to a common cold plate. Moreover, such a system should also be readily serviceable. Additionally, no solution proposes thermally connecting all such high heat dissipation devices to a common cooling plate by thermal elevation and co-planarization to a side of the enclosure. None of the existing systems further includes an easily serviceable system accessible through a removable lid as part of the heat removal system.